The instant invention relates generally to wrist watches and, more specifically, to wrist watches that provide a silent alarm to the wearer.
At the present state of the art, most alarm watches provide an audible signal to alert the wearer that the alarm has sounded. This audible signal can often cause serious problems. For example, when worn in public, the alarm can cause disruption. When worn to bed, the audible alarm can awaken nearby individuals who are trying to sleep. In some instances, the alarm can be so distracting that it endangers public safety and welfare.
A number of inventions have been proposed to address this problem. These include Electricity Supply Structure for a Piezoelectric Vibrator, Tanaka et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,257); Alarm Signal Bracelet, W. Stanton (U.S. Pat. Des. 279,671); Combined Wristwatch and Container, Jones et al. (U.S. Pat. Des. 296,675); Watch With Sliding Door, T. Givings (U.S. Pat. Des. 296,993); Combined Wristwatch and Calculator, W. Kai (U.S. Pat. Des. 303,503); Watchcase With Cover, H. Dinstman (U.S. Pat. No. 2,636,338); Electronic Alarm Watch, G. Diersbock (U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,804); Wrist Watch With Alarm, Toyama et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,699); Electronic Alarm Wrist Watch, K. Igarashi (U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,387); Wrist Watch With Memo Case, K. Cho (U.S. Pat. 4,903,250); Quiet Alarm Clock, J. Meister (U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,525); Opening and Closing Structure of Cover Lid of Watch, Hiranuma et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,093); Wristwatch With Oscillation Alarm, Tsukada et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,956); Electronic Wrist Watch Having a Sound Producing Unit and an Electrooptic Data Display Unit, Yamada et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,138); and, Electric Apparatus with Silent Alarm, Kawata et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,853). While some of these propose a vibrating watch body, none of them provides a vibrating watchband. The vibrating watch body provides limited tactile stimulus and tends to emit more noise than a vibrating watchband.